- i7; .
Hi;
ri. . fee.. V:Vv
V' PS'H
ADVERTISING DOBS IT.
Don't spend your time In tke expense
end of your buetneM, but ln the profit
end, the selling end, the creative end,,
that makes the money to keep the o-'h-er
end s;olngr.
rr
j THE "S -- - -H "
vol. xcrvsro. ti4. :
iiN AIID RUSSIAN
EMPERORS SEE GREAT
BSnLE III FAR EAST
William of Germany and Nich
olas of Russia Face to Face
on the Battle Front.
DESPERATE FIGHTING
Neither Side Gives Out Any
Statement as to Outcome
of Terrific Battle
Known to be Raging With Un
abated Fury.
Loudou. Feb. 7. "With the
Cerman and Russian Emperors as
eyewitnesses, the armies of Russia
and Germany are still contending
"f0r the positions that protect the
Polish capital of Warsaw from
the invaders. The Russian Em
"peror has been at Russian head
quarters for several days, and the
German representative announces
that the German Emperor has
joined his generals and has actu
ally visited troops in the' trenches.
Nothing has been disclosed as
to the progress of the battle which
when last reports were received
was raging with unabated fury.
The Russians, according to Sat
urdays official statement, had
strengthened their positions on the
western -bank- 6FtheSzura, which
they had crossed near its mouth,
aud captured another German
vantage poiut. They also captur
ed a long line of German trenches
near Borjimow, which has been the
center of most desperate fighting.
U.-ittlc iu East Prussia.
In East Prussia another big battle
Is developing the Germans having sent
reinforcements, apparently from their
Bzura front to that region. In the
Carpathians, while their right is ad
vancing: the Russians are able only to
import that their left has checked the
Aimro-ijorinan offensive.
"With regard to all this fighting tie
German official report says:
"Xo essential events have taken
piace." ,
fighting in the West is u repetition
the preceding days. There have
be?n lively artillery duels and a few
infantry attacks in which both eides
daijn to have gained some ground.
No .further fighting in Egypt is re
portod. The Turkish account of that
which already has occurred there re
fcs to it as an encounter of van-
sruards and adds that the battles are
?ti!l in progress. This probably is a
fiejaye! announcement.
The Italian report of the return of
Karon Burian. the Austro-Hungarian
foreign minister from his visit to the
"'"fraan Emperor says the Austrian
ahinet found the results satisfactory
were not inclined to give Trentino
u Italy, and part of Transylvania to
Itoumimia a.s the price of continued
neutrality on the part of those coun
tries. Turkey h:;s given Italy satisfaction
for the ITodeida incident. The British
onsi i hus veen realeased and the Ital
an fla- saluted.
'''iisiish refugees from Constantino
P'e declare the former Gernian cruiser
';0(sbe:.. now owned by Turkey, was so
''staged by striking a Turkish mine,
":t,iat it - ii e impossible to repair her
at Constantinople. This virtual loss of
"ik ii-n reauces me x uritian ueci
to a statement of inferiority as
Pared- with the Russian Black sei
nirh i.a ;.bout to be strengthene
com-
sea fleet
rev . . j.
- on li n t coiiHiruuicu
"astonoi. Tt i believed that when this
S"P joins the fleet Russia will at
'ack Hosphorus and the. Black sea
while the Allied fleets attempt
'o forr-p the Dardanelles.
"ijte Bfnrdict's prayer for peace was
p"'1 in all the Catholic churches in
f neiar.fi and France today.
T I' II KEY SATISFIED ITAL.Y.
r,'! nnnlt Returned to Consulate
Italian Flag Saluted.
lari.sh, Feb. ,7. Friction between
iy aiHi Turkey over the seizure by
r,II"Us of George Alexander Richard-
". brttish consul at Hodeida, Arabia,
" ii Mr
f' was a refugee in the Italian
'te. inrnh.Thlv was nrlrl tnrtav.
nJ"f-'ilat
''rriint- to a Havas dispatch from
'hardson was brought before the
:,n consulate in Hodeida, says the
ine Italian nag was nymg
over
-!e building'" and the Turks ren-
" honors. Mr. Richardson, then
on he
auxiliary cruiser Empress of
nil-.
f-on-espondent adds that rela
; '"s l etween the Italian consulate and
l K,al authoriti
"ities of Hodeida again
-ordiaj.
On
' attacked the British consulate
( "o! iC3a and Consul Richardson fled
1 'lalian consulate. A demand was
v 'Continued on Page Two.)
BAD CONGESTION
AT
TS
New York, Baltimore and Nor
'folk Report to McAdoo.
SHORTAGE OF VESSELS
Collector Hamilton at Norfolk States
That Warehouses, Sheds and Cars
Are Fall of Both Forelg-n
and Coastwise Goods.
Washington, Feb. 7. Secretary Mc
Adoo tonight made public telegrams
from the New 'York, Baltimore, and
Norfolk customs 'collectors telling of
great congestion of freight because of
hick of ocean-going transportation.
Dudley Field Mai one, the New York
collector, told of unusual congestion
particularly with respect to grain.
"Explanation of this congestion," he
reported, "is that export movement
cannot be effected because of shortage
of tonange."
The congestion applied to warehouse
elevators as well as cars and lighters,
he added, but no marked congestion of
coastwise trade was discernable.
Collector Ryan at Baltimore reportT
ed that the Pennsylvania railroad had
placed an embargo on grain consigned
for export there. The elevators, he
said, "were loaded to capacity and
there were 4,260,000 bushels of grain
on railroad tracks awaiting removal.
Otherwise conditions at Baltimore were
normal, Mr. Ryan said.
- Bad Conditions at Norfolk.
Collector Hamilton at Norfolk re-
I puneu iiiucii congestion 01 mercnan
i dise consigned to both coastwise and
! foreign destinations.
"There are in warehouse and under
shed at Norfolk at the present time,
he reported, 85,556 bales of cotton val
ued in Germany at $5,476,160. There Is
great congestion in warehouses, . under
shed and on cars of general export
merchandise freight, consisting princi
pally of tobacco, lumber, flour, cot
ton seed' oil, etc.
7The congestion has become so great
that in some instances foreign lines
ftfcnrgte"tinif 'out 'move' general Tg
ships within an immediate week for
Glasgow,; Liverpool and London than
for any combined period of three
months, have been compelled to refuse
: offered shipments,
j "There is a great and serious inter
ruption to export coal business by rea
! son of the fact that ships are not
I available. This .being especially
J true in the case of export coal business
j to Mediterranean, South America and
ports - on the West coast of Africa.
Freight rates out of Hampton Roads
on coal to South American ports have
i lately been quoted as high as several
'dollars per ton on coal valued at $2.70
per ton. making shipments absolutely
prohibitive and destroying business."
ENGLAND MUCH, INTERESTED
IN CONDUCT OF L.USITANIA
: Use of American Flag May Brine; About
an Early Understanding.
London, Feb. 7. The use of the
American flag by the British steamer
Lusitania, of the Cunard Line, in its
voyage across the Irish sea, has arous
ed great interest, and although it did
not mention this instance specifically,
the British foreign office issued a state
ment dealing in a general way with
sucn usage. It argues that the only ef
fect in the case of a merchantman fly
ing a neutral flag would be . to compel
a belligerent ship to investigate the
vessel's nationality and the character
of her cargo before capturing her.
The statement points out also that
by the merchant; shipping act of 1894
foreign vessels are permitted to use
British colors for the purpose of escap
ing capture". '
From stories told by passengers on
the Lusitania it would appear that the
captain of- the liner received his in
structions to hoist the stars and stripes
from the British admiralty. Already he
has been warned of the presence of the
German submarines.
A Birmingham magistrate, Joseph
Sturge, who was returning from a trip
to the United States aboard the Lusi
tania, said that the voyage had been
uneventful until the steamer arrived
off the Irish coast, on Friday morning.
"Then on an intimation from the ad
miralty," said he, "we hoisted the Am
erican flag, which" caused some sensa
tion among the passengers. We pro
ceeied under the American colors, but
teh Eiglish flag was rehoisted before we
reached the landing stage at Liver
pool." Officials here hold strongly to the
view that in the use of neutral flag
British ships, bearing neutral passen
gers, particularly Americans, are fully
justified in taking whatever measures
are deemed necessary to save life.
London, Feb. 7. The Swedish steam
er William, from Baltimore January
15th for Trelleborg and Kalmar, Swe
den, ook refuge in Queenston harbor
today from the storm. Several of he
crew were injured, her boats were
smashed and the bridge damaged.
X JAPAN THREATENS MILITARY;
JL ACTION TOWARD CHINA TO
.1.
FORCE DEMAND
Peking, China, Feb. 7. Japan
has threatened military action to
force China to meet her recent
demands, according to a ' cable
message from the Chinese min
ister at Tokio. Officials say,
however, the communication
should not be taken too seriously.
LARGER
FOR
WH.MIKGTOJST, K.
Interest of pease
7
Foreign Diplomats at Wash
ington Discuss Possibility.
COL- HOUSE TO EUROPE
Visit of President's Friend to European
Capitals Canses Speculation as
to Reason No Specific
, Plans Afoot
Washington, Feb, 7. Plans which
President Wilson may have, looking to
the eventual termination of the Eu
ropean war, were the subject of much
speculation among foreign diplomats
today as a result of the arrival in Lon
don of Colonel E. M. House, the Presi
dent's intimate friend, on a tour of the
European capitals.
At the White House it was stated
that Mr. House was not authorized to
carry peace negotiations while in Eu
rope, though the President naturally
expected to learn much of interest
about the diplomatic situation there
when the Colonel returned in the
spring. ,
It was said authoritatively that Mr.
House had planned to go to Europe'
of his tfWn initiative but that the
President asked him to do what he
could toward co-ordinating various re
lief measures undertaken by Ameri
cans abroad.
Only incidentally does Colonel
House's mission bear on the possibility
of making peace, as the President, it
is known does not intend to renew his
original tender of good offices for
' mediation until there is an acceptance,
or a strong indication to that ef
fect by one or more of the belliger
ents. Look For Developments
Many diplomats here, however,
were inclined to believe that the trip
of Colonel House might be' instrumen
tal eventually in developing unofficial
. iy an understanding of conditions un
der which the belligerents would make
peace. Colonel House is on intimate
terms with some of the principal for
eign secretaries of Europe and most
of the American ambassadors in Eu
rope were his close, associates before
Colonel House bears a letter saying
he is the personal and -unofficial rep
resentative of President Wilson so
that Americans in -charge of various
branches of relief work will not hesi
tate to discuss their plans and co
operate with him freely. ,
While engaged in this work Colonel
House is expeeted to. gather much in
formation that may be of value to
(Continued on Page Two.) ,
VILLA DRAWS NEARER
CAPITAL OF MEXICO
i t r i xr
wages Jrcsperaie war un var-
ranza Forces.
Representative of Cien. Villa at Wash
ington Receives Message From
His Chief Advance on
Tampico Steady.
Washington, Feb. 7. Advices to the
Villa agency here tonight said General
Villa was at Irapuato, 100 miles north
of Mexico City, directing an extensive
campaign which has for its object the
capture of Tampico and domination of
the northern half of Mexico.
That Gen. Villa would invite the di
plomatic corps to come into territory
he controls as a counter move to the
invitation issued by Carranza f or the
diplomats to go to Vera Cruz was in
dicated in advices reaching here. At
the the State Department no further
news of the differences between Carran
za and the diplomatic corps was re
ceived. The Carranza agency issued at state
ment giving the list of original dele
gates to .the Aguas Calientes conven
tion, who either were dead, in hiding or
missing, anu those who were support
ing the various chiefs. The Carranza
list claims that out of the total number j
of more than 150" only fl now support;
Villa, 55 are aligned with Carranza, 16 1
are with Fulalio Gutierrez 25 with Za
pata, 27 are unaccounted for, the affili
ations of eight are unknown, 4 were
killed in battle, 4 assassinated, 2 are in
prison, and 1 General Jesus Davila
Sanches is neutral, though his where
abouts is not given.
Enrique Llorente, the Villa represen
tative, tonight explained that Villa's
military campaign had advanced along
the. three principal railroads In Central
Mexico to within a few miles of the bor
der towns of Piedras Negras, . Nuevo
Laredo and Matamoras. 'At each place
Villa troops are threatening the Car
ranza garrison, he said.
Llofrente added that General Angeles
had complete control or Monclova, Mon
terey, Catillo and San Luis Potosi, and
that the advance on Tampico was pro
gressing rapidly.
Madrid; Madrid, Feb. 7. The Spanish
Chamber of Commerce has protested
against the manner In which Spanish
merchandise is handled at some .United
States ports, - especially, those of Porto
Rico. Modification is asked or at least
the same 'treatment United States mer
chandise in accorded in. Spanish ports.
i
U
piOliNESTG,
OF CITY FINANCES
Addresses Open Letter to
Councilman Chadwick
... , .
AS TO PROPOSED BONDS
Legislator Makes Inquiry as to Ac
counts and Finance of City to
Govern His Attitude Cou-
cerninsr Pending: Bills
(Special Star Correspondence)
Raleigh JT. C, Feb7. Representative
Stacy has sent to I. N. Chadwick Jr.,
councilman of accounts and finances, of
the city council of j; Wilmington an
open letter of inquiry as to a number
of matters pertaining to the finances
of the city, the information asked be
ing wanted by Mr. ,ftacy in determin
ing his attitude towird a number of
bills either introduced in the Legis
lature already or tat will be in
troduced soon. The" letter follows:
Raleigh, N. C.
February 6. 1915.
Mr. D. N. Chadwick,; Jr., '
Councilman of Accoftnts and Finance,
Wilmington.XK C.
My dear Sir: .
1 wish to obtain Jsome information
in regard to the City's finances, . in
order that I may intelligently act upon
the bills already introduced, and those
which have been suggested, relating
to bond issue. s ,. .
In the first place, we have already
passed an act, at thiar'-session, validat
ing the City's notes.in the sum of
$40,000,00, which Avere- issued for Mar
ket street improvement; and, in the
same act, authority was given the City
to levy a tax with which to pay these
notes. It is my information that these
notes are non-interest v bearing and
that they fall due four years after
the date of their making.' sucn are
their tenor by reason of the condi
tions under which they were issued.
I should like to know if this informa
tion be correct. ..
Another BiltVPending
- Another.. ifeUlJbas orady. .ftee.;
duced in the Senate author iain
City to issue bonds in the sum of $100,
000 to take up its present floating
indebtedness. . In this bill the Market
street notes are also included. Why
authorize the City to levy a tax to pay
these notes and then authorize a bond
issue to take them up? The notes
and the bonds both carry a tax. Even
if the notes bear six percent interest
(contrary to my information) and the
bonds only Ave per cent interest, what
assurance do you have that the hold
ers of the notes will surrender them
and take the bonds? Of course, I un
derstand if these Market street notes
do not bear interest you would not
exchange five per cent bonds for them.
Still another bill has been introduced
by Senator Cooper authorizing the
City to borrow $100,000.00 and lend
the same to citizens for the building
of sidewalks and installing water and
sewerage connections. Said loans to
citizens are to be repaid as may be re
quired by the City Council, but the act
does not require the Council to use the
funds thus repaid by the Citizens in
discharging the City's debt incurred
by borrowing the money which 'it pro
poses to lend to the citizens. The
City's debt is to be cared for by a tax.
And I apprehend that the next Legis
lature will-be called upon" 'to bond this
very indebtedness. Do you not think
this conclusion altogether probable?
Furthermore, as a business principle,
do ; you think it wise for the Legis
lature to authorise elective officers to
lend public funds to their constitu
ents? I also notice from the papers that
the City Council desires authority to
issue bonds in the sum of $40,000,00 to
take up certain other bonds falling
due in 1918 and 1919. I wish to in
(Continued on Page Two.)
GENTLEMEN BANDITS
ROB LIMITED TRAIN
Men Only Relieved of Their
Worldly Possessions.
Passengers on Florida East Coast Pas
senger Invited to Pass Over All
Watches, Money, Etc. La
dles Keep Theirs.
West Palm Beach, yia., Feb. 7. The
Palm Beach Limited train of the Flor
ida East Coast Railroad, bound from
Jacksonville to Miami, was boarded by
four masked men at Stuart, Fla., early
tonight, and .-the male passengers on
the observation platform robbed of
their money and jewelry. The amount
obtained has not been learned, but it is
not. believed to have been large.
No attempt was made to molest the
women. They were forced, however,
at the point of revolvers, to enter the
car, where several of them fainted. Af
ter completing their search of the men,
the . robbers made . their way through
the ' observation car, but found that a
brakeman, who had caught sight of
them, had locked the door.
Revolvers were then. leveled at him
and he was ordered to pull the bell
rope to stop the train. When it slowed
down the . four men jumped to- the
ground and escaped. Posses are . now
searching for them. ,
STACY WOULD KNOW 1
FEBEUAEY 8, 1915
HIT ONE OATS
MORE FOR SENATE
Call for Extra Session of Con
gress is Probable.
SHIPPING BILL FIGHT
If Fight 'Continued, Appropriation Meas
ures Must be Handled in Extra
Session If Appropriations
. Passed Fight Lost.
Washington, Feb. 7. With 21 work
ing days ahead of the Sixty-Third Con
gress the fate of the government ship
purchase bill still remains uncertain.
Whether it will be held before the Sen
ate to the exclusion of appropriation
bills until passed or until the gavel
ends the session March 4V must be de
termined by the President and adminis
tration leaders. Some definite under
standing on this point probably will be
reached in a few days. The President is
expected to discuss the situation to
morrow with senators who have stood
valiantly 1?or the bill through the last
week of party rebellion.
Suggestions that Republican senators
eventually might yield their opposition
in order to take up appropriation bills
and let the measure come to a vote, are
denied by minority leaders. They in
sist the bill cannot get to a vote. Dem
ocratic senators championing the bill
admit the situation is desperate. They
realize their insistence on keeping the
bill before the Senate will cause fail
ure of the great appropriation bills.
This would make an extra session in
evitable. If it is determined that an effort
should be made to pass the appropria
tion bills to avoid an extra session, the
ship purchase bill, in the opinion of
some of its staunchest friends, must
be withdrawn. Even then there tmay
not be time to pass all the great supply
measures. There are fights ahead on
the naval and military bills, and the ri
sers and harbors bill is certain to pro-
iiU,v.to-r., .....
iic immrgiait situation.
What ever is decided as the program
for the rest of the session, the immedi
ate situation is the pending motion of
Senator Clarke, of Arkansas, to recom
mit the ship bill without instructions.
Democratic leaders probably will let the
motion reach a vote tomorrow. A roll
call is expected to show 48 votes in its
favor to 47 against it, with Senator
t Continued on Page TSi'-'nt.)
IS GREATLY IMPROVED
Textile Trade Expert
Kinston Thinks So
At
F. Taylor, General Manager of Large
Plant at Kinston Sees Better
Times Well Known Through
out South as Authority.
(Special Star Correspondence.)
Kinston, N. C, Feb. 7. J. F. Taylor,
general manager of a big plant here
and well known throughout the East
and South as a former president fof the
Southern Soft Yarn Spinners' Associa
tion, declared "conditions in the tex
tile lines are gradually bettering," in
an interview given your correspond
ent Saturday. "There has been no boom
in the markets yet for two reasons,
notwithstanding we have cheaper cot
ton. First, there were large' stocks of
goods in the hands of the retailers and
jobbers as well as with commission
houses and manufacturers of both raw
material and finished good- on a cotton-cost
basis of 12 1-2 to 14 1-2 cents
per pound, and the readjustment of
prices from this cost down to the pres
ent cost has made trading very hard on
any sort of satisfactory basis ..
"Secondly, we have had an immense
amount of foreign goods coming in,
for which orders had been placed some
time prior to the war, under the lower
tariff rates. Most of these goods had
been made up before the war was de
clared and others were completed af
ter that time, so that our imports for
September, October and November far
exceeded those of the same months in
1913. In December they were about
equal and in January quite a falling
off was noticed. Importers' orders, it
is now thought, have been pretty well
filled, so we expect a diminishing .for
eign competition from now on.
"At the same time, our -American
manufacturers are beginning to get
some orders for goods for export, prin
cipally for military us'es, and this will,
probably be increased by orders from
South American and other countries
which have formerly depended upon
England, France and Germany for
nearly all of their textile goods.
"So, now having more nearly. a mo
nopoly of our home "trade and a.brig-ht
prospect for a good share of expert
business, together with the general im
provement in business of almost all
kinds throughout the country, we con
fidently expect a great boom in textile
manufacturing during the year."
Mr. Taylor, like most other men at
the head of big business concerns, ex
pects South America to contribute
greatly to American commerce if the
war - should continue.. HeMsl regarded
as"" one v of ' the best-posted icotton mill
men in the South-." ,,
SOUTHERN
SHON
RATIFY AGREEMENT
AS TO COAST LINE
President Kenly and Governor
Craig Write
AS TO UNDERSTANDING
Charge of Bad Faith as to Removal of
Case Disproved Committee Com
mends Sense of Fairness in
Meeting: the Situation.
The full text of the correspondence
under which the conference was re
cently held in Raleigh at which a full
agreement as between the Atlantic
Coast Line and the State in the matter
of removal of cases to the Federal
Court, detailed in the Raleigh dispatch
es to this paper, was made public in
this city yesterday by Assistant General
Counsel George B. Elliott, of the rail-
jToad company, together with the letter
of Governor Craig to President Kenly,
of the company, and the reply of Mr.
Kenly to the Governor, ratifying the
terms of the agreement.
The correspondence is - explanatory
within itself and opens with the letter
of Mr. Elliott to the Go.vernor, propos
ing to ha've the conference with a view
to a full and fair settlement of the con
troversy; the details of the conference
as made by the Governor to Mr. Elliott,
giving the findings of the committee,
and the letters or Mr. Elliott and Mr.
Kenly, accepting the terms of the agree
ment, all of which become now a mat
ter of- record. The letters follow in
their order:
Wilmington, N. C, February 6th, 1915.
(At Raleigh, N. C.)
Honorable Locke Craig, Governor of
North Carolina, Raleigh, N. C:
My dear Sir In order that the sug
gestion made by me on behalf of this
company may be definitely and clearly
submitted to you and the gentlemen
who have kindly consented to meet with
yu in order to determine accurately
the facts in connection with the pass-
fa f -the ignslftliig AtfFff3tV trade
which- the" WilmingtoK& Weiaon! wSs
consolidated with , the other roads now
forming the Atlantic Coast Line Rail
road Company, I beg. leave to reduce to
writing, in this letter, the statement I
have heretofore made to yau, and indi
vidually to certain of the other gentle
men mentioned.
I have asked, and you have very kind
ly consented to aid .me in securing a
meeting of the gentlemen who have ac
tual personal knowledge of the facts
connected with the introduction and
passage of this bill, the object being to
ask them to consider the situation as
they recall it, and to determine, after
mutual discussion: (1) Wether or not
a promise was made by any official of
the Wilmington & Weldon or the Atlan
tic Coast Line that the consolidated
company would not seek to remove a
case to the Federal Court upon the
ground of diverse citizenship thereafter
if the bill introduced by Mr. Rountree
was enacted into a law; (2), Whether
such a promise was made by anyone
p!r huvinir even aDDarent authority.
j on behalf of the Wilmington & Weldon
lor the Atlantic Coast Line, and (3)
Whether the Legislature, in passing
this bill, actually relied upon the faith
of any such promise, either made or
which was understood by the Legisla
ture, to have been made.
I have said to you, and to the other
gentlemen, that the Atlantic Coast
Line officials have no knowledge of
any such promise ever having been
made by any person officially connect
ed with the Atlantic Coast Line, or by
anyone else, but that if it appeared
that such a promise was made, even
without the knowledge of the officials,
by one having even apparent authority,
and that the;action of the Legislature
of 1899, in. passing the law, was upon
the faith of the understanding that such
a promise had been made, that the At
lantic Coast Line Railroad Company is
now prepared, and will agree to re
nounce any right that it has under the
law to remove cases from the State to
the Federal Court in this State upon
the groundof diverse citizenschip, and
will immediately agree to a dismissal
or remand of all cases now pending
in the Federal Court, in which the cause
of action arose within this State, and
which was removed to the Federal
Court upon the ground of diverse citi
zenship, '
I am authorized to agree further for
the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Com
pany, in the event you find that such
a promise was made, or understood to
have been made, that it will not here
after seek removal of cases, in which
the cause of action arose in this State,
to the Federal Court, upon the ground
of diverse citizenship, and to ' agree
generally that so far as the right of
remefval is concerned, the Atlantic Coast
Line Railroad Company will assume the
same position it would occupy if the
property were still operated by the Wil
mington & Weldon Railroad Company.
This, as we view it, would give full
force and effect to the possible pur
pose and intention of the Legislature in
passing the Act of 1899, construing it
most liberally in favor of the State.
It would not, of course, preclude us
from seeking the jurisdiction of the
Federal Court in those cases in which
under the Federal statutes may be tried
in the Federal Court, eveft by a corpo
ration which is a citizen of this State.
It is the sincere desire of this com
pany to ascertain actually the facts
in . connection with the passage of this
bill, and thereafter to carry out to the
fullest extent any obligation, either le
gal or moral, which properly flows from
those" facts, and I desire to express here
my appreciation of the courtesy shown
us by you gentlemen who have consent
ed to meet and discuss this situation, In
. (Continued on Page Eight.) .. v.
v ' - . ' - '
WHOXiE, NUMBER 13,905.
AVOID VIOLENCE TO
NEUTRAL VESSELS IS
GERMAN NAVAL ORDER
That Phrase in Official Memo
randum Reassures Wash
ington Authorities.
PROBABLY NO PROTEST
But State Department Will
Make Inquiries as to
' Certain Points.
Early Understanding is Desire
. . , i.
of America.
Washing ton, Feb. 7. Although th
text of Germany's official memorandum
explaining the admiralty's proclama
tion of a submarine campaign against
enemy merchant ships has been de
layed in transmission and did not reach
the State Department today from Am
bassador Gerard, publication in the
press of the text of the document pro
duced a profound impression in tha
national capital.
As the memorandum revealed that
German naval commanders had been
ordered to-"avoid violence 'to neutral
ships-, it was regarded as much more
reassuring than the brief proclama
tion, though there was some uneasi
ness over the suggestion in the mem
orandum that efforts to torpedo enemy
ships might unintentlally strike neu
tral vessels.
President Wilson and his cabinet'
have come to ho decision as to wheth
er the United States will enter a pro
test, but it is believed some inquiry
may be made as to what steps are plan
ned to take off passengers and crews
from enemy merchant ships us well sis
neutral vessels. The declaration of
Len;dtt provides- thattryUvc peveons.
aboard an enen merchant" slups must
be saved before the vessel is destroyed.
-Want Assurances Now.
If assurances are given that mer
chant ships will not be summarily de
stroyed without giving an opportunity
for persons aboard to be saved, it is
regarded as certain that the American
government, pbserving strict neutral
ity, will not protest against the. Ger
man proclamation. '
- It was apparent among high officials
that the hoisting of the American flag
on the British steamer Lusitania im-t
mediately after the charge, had been
made in the German admiralty's proc
lamation that neutral flags had been
ordered used by Great Britain was
more likely to call forth diplomatic
discussion than the proclamation it
self. This incident may call forth an
inquiry tomorrow if American Am
bassador Page does not report on it by
then. The presence of many close friends
and relatives of high officials of the
American government on board the Lu-
sitania and stories that the vessel rais
ed the American flag to protect neu
tral passengers brought home to offi
cials the question of safety for Ameri
cans traveling by sea and the neces
sity for an early understanding.
While there is no law of .the United
States penalizing any vessel that en
ters or leaves, American ports for uslpg1
the American flag without authorize
tion and no explicit rule on the sub
ject ever has been incorporated in in
ternational law, the embarrassments
which might result from such a prac
tice caused much speculation among;
diplomats. ;
Warning Is Studied.
The German warning that neutrals1
should not voyage in enemy merchant
ships, probably will be heeded, to some
extent, it was thought but the effect
on those Americans who are in Eu
rope now and plan to return home by
the Big English and French passen
gers liners was another phase of tha
situation that was studied.
In some executive quarters it wax
believed that the German naval com
manders had been given much more
strict instructions about caring for the
safety of civilians of both enemy and.
neutral countries on board merchant
ships than had been made public.
The view suggested was that Ger
many's action was aimed chiefly against
the cargoes of contraband and the
troop ships crossing the English chan
nel. In this connection it was that official
information has been received by the
American government that for the last
month England had transported an av
erage of 30,000 men each week across
the channel. Official estimates which
have reached the American government
place the number of British troops in
the field now as close to 500,000 with
the expectation that Kitchener's army
of 1,000,000 was likely to be in France
by spring.
Germany's charge that England rad
not respected neutral property aboard
enemy ships and that neutral govern
ments have protested vainly in this
respect was not generally known here
until the German memorandum was
made " public.
PART FOR GERM AX NAVY
Will Bide Her Timeand Fight In Her
Own Way Respect of England
Berlin, Feb, 7. (via London) Grand
Atlmica.1 Von-Koester, president of the
German Navy League, in an address at
Kiel University today, discused condi
tions governing the part to-be played
by the German navy in the war. He
declared the relative strength of the
German fleet compared with the Anglo-French-Russian
fleet is perhaps one to
four.v" The British, he : added; perhaps
estimated German lust for battle so
highly that they had said to themselves
"Some day they will come. and we shall
(Cositinatd on Page KigAt.)
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